Sunday, 31 December 2023

WTA - Brisbane 1R start

First round commenced in Brisbane.

2024 Brisbane International presented by Eviea WTA 500 tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Brisbane, Australia, 31 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

As a result of COVID, the tournament didn’t proceed in 2021.
The event moved to Adelaide in 2021-2023.
Brisbane has been reinstated in 2024.

2020 champion:
Karolina Pliskova (2) who defeated Madison Keys (8) 6-4 4-6 7-5

First round results:
- Cristina Bucsa defeated Greet Minnen 5-7 6-3 6-1
- Marta Kostyuk defeated Ana Bogdan 4-6 6-3 6-3
- Camila Giorgi defeated Peyton Stearns 5-7 6-2 6-3
- Anna Kalinskaya defeated Bernarda Pera 6-2 6-1
- Wildcard Arina Rodionova defeated Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-2
- Mirra Andreeva defeated Diana Shnaider 6-2 6-3
- Anna Karolina Schmiedlova defeated Caroline Dolehide 3-6 6-4 6-2
- Sloane Stephens defeated Katerina Siniakova 7-5 6-3

ATP - Brisbane 1R start

First round commenced in Brisbane 

2024 Brisbane International presented by Eviean ATP 250 tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Brisbane, Australia, 31 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

The tournament was dropped after 2019 and replaced with the ATP Cup which ran from 2020-2022, and United Cup in 2023.
Brisbane has been reinstated in 2024.

2019 champion (not defending):
Kei Nishikori (2) who defeated Daniil Medvedev (4) 6-4 3-6 6-2

First round results:
- Alexander Shevchenko defeated Luca Van Assche 6-3 6-2
- Alexei Popyrin defeated Christopher O’Connell 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(4)

WTA - Auckland

The 2024 WTA tour continues in New Zealand.

2024 ASB Classica WTA 250 tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Auckland, New Zealand, 1-7 January 2024

Defending champion:
Coco Gauff (1) who defeated qualifier Rebeka Masarova 6-1 6-1

The following players withdrew after entering but before the main draw was published:



CoCo Gauff, world number 3, is top seed.

The other 7 seeds are all in the top 43.

There are no byes.

ATP - Hong Kong

The 2024 ATP tour continues in China.

2024 Bank of China Hong Kong Openan ATP 250 tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Hong Kong, China, 1-7 January 2024.

The tournament was dropped after 2002, and its return comes as a result of relocating the Pune, India tournament after five years of hosting there.

2002 champion (not defending):
Juan Carlos Ferrero (2) who defeated Carlos Moya (3) 6-3 1-6 7-6(4)

The following players withdrew after entering but before the main draw was published:


- Christopher Eubanks replaced by Benjamin Bonzi

- Milos Raonic replaced by Borna Gojo


Andrey Rublev, world number 5, is top seed.

The other 7 seeds are all in the top 36

The top four seeds have first round byes

ATP - Brisbane

The 2024 ATP tour begins in Australia.

2024 Brisbane International presented by Eviean ATP 250 tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Brisbane, Australia, 31 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

The tournament was dropped after 2019 and replaced with the ATP Cup which ran from 2020-2022, and United Cup in 2023.
Brisbane has been reinstated in 2024.

2019 champion (not defending):
Kei Nishikori (2) who defeated Daniil Medvedev (4) 6-4 3-6 6-2

The following players withdrew after entering but before the main draw was published:


- Marcos Giron replaced by Christopher O’Connell 

- Yoshihito Nishioka replaced by Aleksandar Vukic

- Reilly Opelka replaced by Thanasi Kokkinakis 


Holger Rune, world number 8, is top seed.

The other 7 seeds are all in the top 35

There are no byes.

WTA - Brisbane

The 2024 WTA tour begins in Australia.

2024 Brisbane International presented by Eviea WTA 500 tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Brisbane, Australia, 31 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

As a result of COVID, the tournament didn’t proceed in 2021.
The event moved to Adelaide in 2021-2023.
Brisbane has been reinstated in 2024.

2020 champion:
Karolina Pliskova (2) who defeated Madison Keys (8) 6-4 4-6 7-5

The following players withdrew after entering but before the main draw was published:


- Irina-Camelia Begu replaced by Ashlyn Krueger 

- Madison Keys replaced by Diana Shnaider

- Karolina Muchova replaced by Tamara Korpatsch 

- Nadia Podoroska replaced by Cristina Bucsa 


Aryna Sabalenka, world number 2, is top seed.

The other 15 seeds are all in the top 38

All seeds have a first round bye.

2024 United Cup - Day 2

The 2024 United Cup - Day 2 Perth and Sydney

2024 United Cup, an ATP Tour and WTA Tour teams tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Perth and Sydney, Australia, 29 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

The second year of a mixed teams tournament involving 18 countries

Defending champion : 
USA which defeated Italy in the final 4-0.

Day 2 

Group F (Sydney)

Netherlands (10) defeated Norway (14) 2-1

Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) defeated Malene Helgø (Norway) 7-6(4) 6-1
Casper Ruud (Norway) defeated Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands) 6-3 6-4
Demi Schuurs / Wesley Koolhof (Netherlands) defeated Ulrikke Eikeri / Casper Ruud (Norway) 7-6(5) 7-5

Group D (Sydney)

Germany (16) defeated Italy (12) 2-1

Jasmine Paolini (Italy) defeated Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-4 7-5
Alexander Zverev (Germany) defeated Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4
Angelique Kerber / Alexander Zverev (Germany) defeated Angelica Moratelli / Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) 6-3 6-0

Group E (Perth)

China (9) defeated Czech Republic (5) 3-0

Zhang Zhizhen (China) defeated Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) 5-7 6-3 6-4
Zheng Qinwen (China) defeated Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) 6-1 2-6 6-1
Zheng Qinwen / Zhang Zhizhen (China) defeated Marketa Vondrousova / Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) 6-1 6-2

Group A (Perth)

Poland (1) defeated Brazil (17) 3-0

Iga Swiatek (Poland) defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) 6-2 6-2
Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild (Brazil) 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3
Iga Swiatek / Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia / Marcelo Melo (Brazil) 6-4 6-3

Saturday, 30 December 2023

2024 United Cup - Day 1

The 2024 United Cup - Day 1 Perth

2024 United Cup, an ATP Tour and WTA Tour teams tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Perth and Sydney, Australia, 29 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

The second year of a mixed teams tournament involving 18 countries

Defending champion : 
USA which defeated Italy in the final 4-0.

Day 1

Group A (Perth)

Spain (11) defeated Brazil (17) 2-1

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain) defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild (Brazil) 6-4 6-0
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain) 7-6(1) 6-2
Sara Sorribes Tormo / Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain) defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia / Marcelo Melo (Brazil) 6-4 7-5

Group C (Perth)

Great Britain (8) defeated Australia (15) 2-1

Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) defeated Alex de Minaur (Australia) 6-4 2-6 7-6(2)
Katie Boulter (Great Britain) defeated Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) 6-2 6-4
Storm Hunter / Matthew Ebden (Australia) defeated Katie Boulter / Neal Skupski (Great Britain) 6-3 7-6(5)

Thursday, 28 December 2023

2024 United Cup

The 2024 United Cup in Australia.

2024 United Cup, an ATP Tour and WTA Tour teams tournament, on Hard Outdoor, Perth and Sydney, Australia, 29 December 2023 - 7 January 2024.

The second year of a mixed teams tournament involving 18 countries.

Defending champion : 
USA which defeated Italy in the final 4-0.

The United Cup offers both WTA Tour and ATP ranking points - a player may be able to win a maximum 500 points.

The first 16 qualified countries, the best five by WTA ranking, the best five by ATP ranking, plus the best six in combined rankings, were announced on 19 October 2023.
The last two qualified countries, the sixth by WTA or ATP rankings, were announced on 21 November 2023.

Perth and Sydney will each host three groups of three countries in round robin contests.

The contests will consist of:

A women’s singles match
A men’s singles match 
A mixed doubles match 

In both Perth and Sydney each group winner, and the best runner up, will advance to the quarter finals.
Pert quarter final winners will fly to Sydney.
Semi finals and finals all played in Sydney.

The qualified countries in their respective groups:

Group A (Perth)

Poland 
Spain
Brazil

Group B (Sydney)

Greece
Canada 
Chile

Group C (Perth)

USA 
Great Britain 
Australia 

Group D (Sydney)

France 
Italy 
Germany 

Group E (Perth)

Czech Republic 
China 
Serbia 

Group F (Sydney)

Croatia 
Netherlands 
Norway

2023 ATP Tour year in review

For men, the ATP Tour began 2023 with the top ten as follows:

  1. Carlos Alcaraz
  2. Rafael Nadal 
  3. Casper Ruud 
  4. Stefanos Tsitsipas 
  5. Novak Djokovic 
  6. Felix Auger-Aliassime
  7. Daniil Medvedev 
  8. Andrey Rublev 
  9. Taylor Fritz 
  10. Hubert Hurkacz 

In lead up to the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic and Kwon Soon-woo won in Adelaide and Tallon Griekspoor won his first ATP Tour tournament in Pune. Additionally, Richard Gasquet won in Auckland 

Djokovic, after missing a year, continued his love affair with Melbourne and won his tenth Australian Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

He regained the number one ranking.


Rafael Nadal lost in the second round, suffering a hip injury in the process.

This would keep him out of tennis for the rest of the year.

On 20 March he would exit the top ten after 912 consecutive weeks spent there.


Australians won the Men’s Doubles for the second straight year, this time the pair was Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata.


The Davis Cup qualifying round was played in the first few days of February in 12 different countries with the 12 winners progressing to the finals group stage in September.


The rest of February included tournaments on hard court and red clay.

Daniil Medvedev won 3 times in the month.

The hard court winners were Jannik Sinner in Montpellier (250), Wu Yibing in Dallas (250), Daniil Medvedev in Rotterdam (500), Doha (250), and Dubai (500), Taylor Fritz in Delray Beach (250), Hubert Hurkacz in Marseille (250), and Alex de Minaur in Acapulco (500).


Wu Yibing was a first time winner - he defeated top seed Taylor Fritz in the semis and fifth seed John Isner in the final.


Clay court winners were Sebastian Baez in CĂłrdoba (250), Carlos Alcaraz in Buenos Aires (250), Cameron Norrie in Rio de Janeiro (500) where he defeated Alcaraz in the final, and Nicolas Jarry in Santiago (250).


Indian Wells in March was the first of the Masters 1000 tournaments for 2023 and Carlos Alcaraz triumphed over Daniil Medvedev. A third Masters 1000 title for the young Spaniard.

Next he would attempt to defend his 2022 Miami Open title, another Masters event.

Here he was beaten in the semis by Jannik Sinner, who in turn was the loser to Daniil Medvedev in the final.

A fourth title for Medvedev already in 2023.


Sinner had now cracked the top ten for the first time.

Medvedev up to #4.


April saw the clay court season begin, signalling the warm up for Roland Garros.

Frances Tiafoe collected a trophy in Houston (250), Roberto Carballes Baena in Morocco (250), Casper Ruud in Estoril (250), Holger Rune in Munich (250), and Dusan Lajovic in Banja Luka (250), 


Also, although he lost in the Banja Luka final, Andrey Rublev took out the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo, defeating Rune.

Carlos Alcaraz had an impact, winning both iBarcelona (500) and the Madrid Masters 1000.


Madrid finished in May which then saw the final entree to the clay court major.

Daniil Medvedev vanquished all to win the Italian Open, another Masters 1000 trophy, Holger Rune beaten finalist in his past two Masters 1000 finals.


Nicolas Jarry picked up his second title for the year in Geneva (250), and France had reason to celebrate as its teenage player Arthur Fils was a first time champion in his homeland - Lyon (250).


Roland Garros saw Carlos Alcaraz back at number one and Daniil Medvedev ranked second.

This meant a possible semi final between Alcaraz and third ranked Djokovic.

It did eventuate, and Alcaraz levelled at a set all. However, the top seed fell apart physically, leaving Djokovic to sweep up the pieces and win in four sets.


The final was against Casper Ruud who lost the previous year’s final against Alacaraz. He lost again, here to Djokovic, the Serb claiming a third major on the red dust, and again the #1 spot.


Grass court season began in June, and unofficially the warm up for Wimbledon.

Frances Tiafoe won in Stuttgart (250), Tallon Griekspoor in Rosmalen (250), Alexander Bublik in Halle (500), Carlos Alcaraz in Queen’s Club, London (500), Christopher Eubanks in Mallorca (250), and Francisco Cerundolo in Eastbourne (250).

It was the first time ATP Tour title for Eubanks.

Tiafoe entered the top ten for the first time.


The Wimbledon final in July featured the top two seeds in a five set battle.

Defending champion Djokovic was dethroned by Carlos Alcaraz whose sixth trophy for the year was also his second Grand Slam tournament victory.


The remainder of July saw the following:

On grass Adrian Mannarino won in Newport (250).

On clay Andrey Rublev won in Bastad (250), Pedro Cachin won his first ATP Tour title in Gstaad (250), Alexander Zverev won in Hamburg (500), Alexei Popyrin won in Umag,(250), and Sebastian Baez won in KitzbĂĽhel (250).

On hard courts, Taylor Fritz won in Atlanta (250), Daniel Evans won in Washington D.C. (500), and Stefanos Tsitsipas won in Los Cabos (250).


August, and the North American hard court swing.

Jannik Sinner won his first Masters 1000 title with the Canadian Open.

Novak Djokovic followed with victory in the Cincinnati Open, which was also Masters 1000 number 39 for his record.

In the final event before the US Open, Sebastian Baez won his third title for the year in Winston-Salem.


The US Open began at the end of August, and the final gave Novak Djokovic the chance to avenge in some way the loss to Daniil Medvedev in 2021 which cost him his calendar year Grand Slam.

Djokovic took the opportunity and won in straight sets.

Third major for the year, and number 24 in his career.


September, and the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals.

Eight nations progressed to the November playoffs:

Canada, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Serbia, Finland.

Alexander Zverev won in Chengdu (250), Karen Khachanov in Zhuhai (250), Jannik Sinner in Beijing (500), and Adrian Mannarino in Astana (250).


In October:

Hubert Hurkacz won the Masters 1000 title in Shanghai.

Ben Shelton won his first ATP Tour title in Tokyo (500).

Alexander Bublik won the European Open in Antwerp (250).

Gaël Monfils won the Stockholm Open (250).

Felix Auger-Aliassime won in Basel (500).

Jannik Sinner won in Vienna (500).

Novak Djokovic won his 40th Masters 1000 tournament in Paris.


The season came to an end in November and French player Ugo Humbert finished well with victory in Metz (250).

Another win for France with its player Adrian Mannarino victorious in Sofia (250).


The ATP Finals in Turin gave crowds the chance to see the years best 8 players fight for glory.

Despite losing to Jannik Sinner in a round robin match, Novak Djokovic remained unbeaten in his next matches, including the final, against Sinner.


The title was number seven in ATP Finals for Djokovic, and he ended the year number one for a record eighth time.


The top ten at season end: (movement from year start in brackets)

  1. Novak Djokovic (+4)
  2. Carlos Alcaraz (-1)
  3. Daniil Medvedev (+4)
  4. Jannik Sinner (+11)
  5. Andrey Rublev (+3)
  6. Stefanos Tsitsipas (-2)
  7. Alexander Zverev (+5)
  8. Holger Rune (+3)
  9. Hubert Hurkacz (+1)
  10. Taylor Fritz (-1)

Finally, Italy defeated Australia in the final of the Davis Cup, and Hamad Medjedovic defeated Arthur Fils in the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Tuesday, 26 December 2023

2023 WTA Tour year in review

For women, the WTA Tour began 2023 with the top ten as follows:

  1. Iga Swiatek 
  2. Ons Jabeur 
  3. Jessica Pegula 
  4. Caroline Garcia 
  5. Aryna Sabalenka 
  6. Maria Sakkari 
  7. CoCo Gauff
  8. Daria Kasatkina 
  9. Veronika Kudermetova 
  10. Simona Halep 

In lead up to the Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka and Belinda Bencic won in Adelaide and Coco Gauff won Auckland tournament.

Sabalenka continued that form into Melbourne Park where she contested and won her first Grand Slam tournament final against reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.


Iga Swiatek collected her first title for the year in February - Doha, and a week later was again a finalist - this time in the first WTA 1000 event for 2023. Barbora Krejcikova upset the top seed.


March saw Indian Wells, the second 1000 event, and the opportunity for Rybakina to exact revenge on Sabalenka , which she did.

A fortnight later Rybakina was defeated in the Miami 1000 final by Petra Kvitova.

Rybakina had moved herself into the top ten.


The clay court season began in April with Ons Jabeur winning on the green stuff in Charleston, before the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers were sorted out on the red clay and some hard courts.

7 of the 9 seeded nations won through to the finals, with many outstanding individual performances including from Nuria Parrizas Diaz (Spain), Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic), Caroline Garcia (France), Leylah Fernandez (Canada), Jessica Pegula (USA), and Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan).


Following that were two tournament finals featuring the two highest ranked players.

Stuttgart 500 was won by Iga Swiatek in straight sets over Aryna Sabalenka, who struck back the next week in a three set classic 1000 Madrid victory.


Leading into Roland Garros, May began with Elena Rybakina winning the 1000 Italian Open. Elina Svitolina, after returning to the tour in April, won in Strasbourg, and Lucia Bronzetti broke through for her first WTA title in Morocco.


Iga Swiatek took three sets, but was victorious over Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic at Roland Garros, successfully defending her title, 

Swiatek now had three Roland Garros trophies and a US Open crown in her cabinet.


June, and the grass court season preceding Wimbledon.

Titles were won by Ekaterina Alexandrova in Rosmalen, Katie Boulter in Nottingham (her first), Petra Kvitova in Berlin, Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham, Madison Keys in Eastbourne, and Katerina Siniakova in Bad Homburg.


July was highlighted by Wimbledon, and Ons Jabeur was a defeated finalist for the second successive year.

Czech Marketa Vondrousova, in her first major final, tasted ultimate success.

The win rocketed her into the top ten.


Remaining events in July included 4 back on clay, and these were all won by first time champions.

Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek won her  fourth title of the year, in her home land of Poland.


CoCo Gauff began her North American hard court run with victory in Washington D.C.

Her doubles partner Jessica Pegula captured the 1000 Canadian Open in the first week of August.

Gauff followed with the 1000 Cincinnati Open.

Thea US Open was the culmination in September, and Gauff saluted, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final, for her first Grand Slam singles trophy.

Sabalenka achieved the world number one ranking by making the final.


September’s remaining North American tournaments were 500 San Diego, California, and 1000 Guadalajara, Mexico, where Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari respectively triumphed.

The tour was then focused on Asia for the rest of the year.


Veronika Kudermetova won her second title, the 500 Pan Pacific Open, in Japon, defeating Jessica Pegula in the final.


October began with the 1000 China Open in Beijing, and Iga Swiatek received her fifth trophy of the year.

Next, Zheng Qinwen won in Zhengzhou, Leylah Fernandez in Hong Kong, Jessica Pegula in Seoul, and Katerina Siniakova in Nanchang.


Before the year end championships, two more titles were decided - Tamara Korpatsch was a first time champion in Romania, and Elise Mertens won in Tunisia.


The top performed players in 2023 qualified for the WTA Finals and the WTA Elite Trophy.

Players not qualified for the WTA Finals were able to fight for the WTA Elite Trophy, and it was Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia who prevailed in the final over China’s Zheng Qinwen.


The WTA Finals would decide the year number one, and the final was contested by Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.

Iga Swiatek was victorious, and collected her sixth title for the year.


Top ten as the 2023 season closed:

  1. Iga Swiatek (unchanged from year start)
  2. Aryna Sabalenka (+3)
  3. Coco Gauff (+4)
  4. Elena Rybakina (+17)
  5. Jessica Pegula (-2)
  6. Ons Jabeur (-4)
  7. Marketa Vondrousova (+85)
  8. Karolina Muchova (+143)
  9. Maria Sakkari (-3)
  10. Barbora Krejcikova (+12)

In November Canada defeated Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup final held in Seville, Spain.